Instrument exchanger

ABSTRACT

A device for handling small dental instruments, including an elongate handle and a pair of instrument-carrying members received on the opposed ends of the handle. The instrumentcarrying members are magnetized so as to attract the shank of small metal dental instruments such as, for example, reamers and drills. In this way, and assuming sterilization of the instrument exchanger, the shank or working portion of the small instrument is not touched by human hands and, therefore, is not contaminated. The exchanger may have the opposed instrumentcarrying members color-coded so that one end will always be used for sterile instruments and the other end always used for contaminated instruments. It is also possible to provide a groove or seat in the face of the carrying members to enhance the security of the instrument while it is being transferred. It is also possible to mount the carrying members on the handle so that they can be adjusted to various positions relatively of the handle.

United States Patent 1 91 Malmin INSTRUMENT EXCHANGER [76] Inventor:Oscar Malmin, 127 E. Wayne Ave.,

Akron, Ohio 44301 [22] Filed: Feb. 9, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 224,840

Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-J. Q. LeverAttorney, Agent, or Firm--Freeman & Taylor 1 51 Mar. 11, 1975 [57]ABSTRACT A device for handling small dental instruments, including anelongate handle and a pair of instrumentcarrying members received on theopposed ends of the handle. The instrument-carrying members aremagnetized so as to attract the shank of small metal dental instrumentssuch as, for example, reamers and drills. In this way, and assumingsterilization of the instrument exchanger, the shank or working portionof the small instrument is not touched by human hands and, therefore, isnot contaminated. The exchanger may have the opposed instrument-carryingmembers colorcoded so that one end will always be used for sterileinstruments and the other end always used for contaminated instruments.It is also possible to provide a groove or seat in the face of thecarrying members to enhance the security of the instrument while it isbeing transferred. It is also possible to mount the carrying members onthe handle so that they can be adjusted to various positions relativelyof the handle.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 INSTRUMENT EXCHANGER BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION Considering first FIG. 1, it will be noted that the in- Thisinvention, in general, relates to the field of den- 5 stfumem exchanger,g n r y icated by the nutistry and, in particcular, relates to aninstrument ex-. changer or handling device which permits the handling ofvery small dental instruments without contamination.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART At the present time Applicant is aware ofno really comparable instrument exchanger. At the present timeinstruments are passed to and from the dentist by various means, all ofwhich involve handling the instrument with the risk of contaminating theworking portion of the instrument. Some of these methods include trays,

cotton, etc.

All of the existing methods have two primary disadvantages. First, theyraise a definite risk of contaminating an otherwise sterile instrument;and second, they are cumbersome and time-consuming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has been found that small dentalinstruments, such as drills, reamers, etc., can be passed betweenpersons in the operating zone by providing an elongate handle with apair of opposed magnetzied carrying members disposed on the opposed endsof the handle, which are capable of attracting the shank of theinstrument and holding it while it is transferred from the dentalassistant to the dentist, for example.

It has further been found that a groove or instrument- Iocating notchcan be provided in the carrying members to insure secure reception andlocation of the instruments on the carrying members.

It has also been found that the carrying members can be color-coded toinsure that contaminated or used instruments are always received on aselected end of the carrying members, while sterile, unused instrumentsare always received on the other end.

Furthermore, it has been found that the carrying members can be mountedon the handle in an adjustable fashion so as to permit the carryingmembers to be adjusted relatively of the handle to dispose theinstrument-receiving faces thereof in varying planes for the convenienceof the user. Accordingly, production of an instrument-transfer device ofthe character described becomes the principal object of this invention,with other objects thereof becoming more apparent upon a reading of thefollowing brief specification considered and interpreted in view of theaccompanying drawings.

OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the instrument exchangershowing the instrument-receiving faces lying in planes parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the handle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but showing theinstrument-receiving planes lying at an angle with regard to thelongitudinal axis of the handle.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention showingthe instrument-carrying members adjustably attached to the handle.

meral 10, includes an elongate handle 11 and a pair of opposedinstrumentcarrying members 20,120 mounted on the opposed ends of thehandle.

The instrument-carrying members 20, are identical, and accordingly onlyone will be described. Thus considering the right-hand end of theinstrument in FIG. 1, it will be noted that a mounting shank 21 isreceived on the end 13 of handle II in conventional fashion. Secured tothe outboard end of the shank 21, in any suitable manner, is theinstrumentcarrying member 20. This member is shown as a rectangularblock but could, of course, take any desired configuration. This blockhas an instrument-receiving surface 22 which is magnetized and whichalso includes an elongate V- shaped slot 23 adapted to receive theworking shank of the instrument 30.

In this regard instrument 30 is illustrated as being a reamer having ahandle 32 and a shank 31. It is be lieved apparent that, as illustratedin FIG. I, the shank, being metallic, would be attracted by themagnetized instrumentreceiving surface of the carrying member 20, withthe handle 32 projecting therefrom.

In use or operation it is merely necessary to grasp the handle 32 of theinstrument 30 and press the shank 31 against the magnetized surface inthe groove following which, of course, the magnetic properties of member20 would retain it in place. The handle 11 is then grasped, and assumingone is dealing with a sterile instrument, the end of the shank carryingthe instrument 30 is turned toward the dentist who merely grasps thehandle 32 and inserts it into the appropriate instrument.

The dentist could also, at this time, place the used or contaminatedinstrument on member 120, following which the assistant would remove itfor disposal or sterilization as the case may be.

It is contemplated that, as shown in FIG. 2, the opposed ends would becolor-coded, and red and blue have been arbitrarily selected forpurposes of description and to avoid confusion in use. In this fashion,for example, the blue end would always receive the sterile instrument,and the red end would always receive the contaminated instrument.

FIG. 2 shows an instrument similar to FIG. 1 and employing the samereference numbers, with the only difference being that, as contrastedtoFIG. 1 in which the instrumentreceiving surfaces 22, 122 are disposedparallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle, in FIG. 2 thesesurfaces are disposed at an angle with regard to that axis. Use oroperation of this instrument is identical to that described above withregard to FIG. 1.

Turning next then to FIG. 3 for a description of the modified form ofthe invention shown therein, again the device includes a shank 111 andopposed instrument-carrying members 220, 220 which haveinstrument-receiving surfaces 222, 222 thereon and which also haveelongate grooves 223, 223 for reception of the shank of the instrument.

The principal difference in the instrument of FIG. 3, however, is thatthe shanks 21, 21 are mounted on the opposed ends 112 and 113 of thehandle 111 by means of a ball and socket arrangement 40 so that theshank can be moved to different positions relatively of .the handle asshown in dotted lines in FIG. 3.

Furthermore, the instrument-carrying members 220, 220 are mounted on theoutboard end of the shanks 121, 121 by a second ball and socketarrangement 50. This permits the opposed carrying members to be moved todifferent positions relatively of the shank.

This form of the invention permits the instrument exchanger to beadjusted to suit the desires and needs of the individual user. i

It should be noted that even in the fixed form of the invention shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, while two postures have been shown for the disposition ofthe instrumentcarrying members relatively of the handle, an infinitenumber of positions could be adopted depending upon the needs of theparticular user.

It should also be noted that while handles 11 and 111 have been shown asthe simple conventional elongate shank of a dental instrument, they alsocould assume any configuration as desired and would not necessarily haveto be straight.

Furthermore, the instrument-receiving surfaces 22, 122 and 222, 222 havebeen shown as being substantially flat, but again they could assume adifferent configuration if desired within the teachings of theinvention.

it should also be pointed out that while color coding has been describedas one method of identifying the ends which respectively receive thesterile and contaminated instruments, other forms of coding could beemployed although color coding probably is the surest and quickestvisual identification.

While a full and complete description of the invention has been setforth in accordance with the dictates of the Patent Statutes, it is tobe understood that modifications can be resorted to without departingfrom the spirit hereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An instrument exchanger for handling small instruments, comprising:

A. an elongate handle;

B. a pair of instrument-carrying members 1. disposed on opposed ends ofsaid handle and 2. each having an exposed magnetized instrumentreceivingsurface thereon and;

'C. each of said instrument-receiving surfaces having locating meansthereon including at least one guide groove adapted to receive at leastthe operative portion of said instruments.

2. The instrument exchanger of claim 1 further characterized by the factthat each of said instrumentcarrying members is differently color-coded.

3. The instrument of claim 1 further characterized by the fact that saidinstrument-carrying members are adjustably mounted on said handlewhereby the plane of said instrument-receiving surfaces can be adjustedrelatively of the longitudinal axis of said elongate handle.

4. An instrument exchanger for handling small instruments, comprising;

A. an elongate handle;

B. a pair of elongate shanks secured to and projecting from the opposedends of said handle;

C. an instrument-carrying member secured to the outboard end of each ofsaid shanks; and

D. each of said instrument-carrying members having an exposed magnetizedinstrument-receiving surface thereon including at least one guidegroove.

5. The instrument exchanger of claim 4 further characterized by the factthat said shanks are adjustably attached to said handle whereby theplane of said instrumentreceiving surfaces can be adjusted relatively ofthe longitudinal axis of said elongate handle.

6. The instrument exchanger of claim 5 further characterized by the factthat said instrument-carrying members are adjustably attached to theoutboard ends of said shanks whereby the plane of saidinstrumentreceiving surfaces can be adjusted relatively of thelongitudinal axes of said shanks.

1. An instrument exchanger for handling small instruments, comprising,A. an elongate handle; B. a pair of instrument-carrying members 1.disposed on opposed ends of said handle and
 2. each having an exposedmagnetized instrument-receiving surface thereon and; C. each of saidinstrument-receiving surfaces having locating means thereon including atleast one guide groove adapted to receive at least the operative portionof said instruments.
 1. An instrument exchanger for handling smallinstruments, comprising, A. an elongate handle; B. a pair ofinstrument-carrying members
 1. disposed on opposed ends of said handleand
 2. each having an exposed magnetized instrument-receiving surfacethereon and; C. each of said instrument-receiving surfaces havinglocating means thereon including at least one guide groove adapted toreceive at least the operative portion of said instruments.
 2. Theinstrument exchanger of claim 1 further characterized by the fact thateach of said instrument-carrying members is differently color-coded. 3.The instrument of claim 1 further characterized by the fact that saidinstrument-carrying members are adjustably mounted on said handlewhereby the plane of said instrument-receiving surfaces can be adjustedrelatively of the longitudinal axis of said elongate handle.
 4. Aninstrument exchanger for handling small instruments, comprising; A. anelongate handle; B. a pair of elongate shanks secured to and projectingfrom the opposed ends of said handle; C. an instrument-carrying membersecured to the outboard end of each of said shanks; and D. each of saidinstrument-carrying members having an exposed magnetizedinstrument-receiving surface thereon including at least one guidegroove.
 5. The instrument exchanger of claim 4 further characterized bythe fact that said shanks are adjustably attached to said handle wherebythe plane of said instrument-receiving surfaces can be adjustedrelatively of the longitudinal axis of said elongate handle.